The 25 Best Cigars of the Year 2011

Rocky Patel Fifteenth Anniversary Torpedo

Rocky Patel calls his Fifteenth Anniversary brand “a Decade on steroids.” We call it his best blend ever. Patel released the cigars in 2010, combining Nicaraguan tobaccos with high-priming Ecuador Habano wrappers. Patel says that some of the tobacco comes from a farm in Estelí that grows “some of the richest and spiciest tobaccos I’ve ever had.”

Patel built his name on cigar brands rolled for him in Honduras by the Plasencia family and General Cigar Co., but this new brand is made in the Tabacalera Villa Cuba S.A. cigar factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. Patel is an owner in the factory, which is run by Amilcar Perez. The fabrica makes its cigars the Cuban way: entubado rolling, finishing with triple caps, and crafting with two binder leaves rather than one.

The Rocky Patel Fifteenth Anniversary Torpedo is dark and box-pressed, with superb construction. Its lush draw is laden with coffee bean, cocoa and earthy flavors that grow in power as the cigar is puffed. This is the best finish ever in our Top 25 for a cigar from Rocky Patel.